Difference between Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat Basics of Adobe Reader and Adobe AcrobatĪdobe Reader is a free program developed and distributed by Adobe Systems that allows you to view PDF or portable document format files. The Standard version is the lighter version of the Acrobat with all the necessary features you’ll find in the Pro version with the exception of preflighting documents, creating PDF portfolios, forms authoring, creating actions, and more. Adobe Acrobat comes in Standard and Pro versions along with a cloud version called Adobe Acrobat DC. It is the more advanced version of the Adobe Reader with added functionalities like the ability to scan paper documents. With Adobe Acrobat, you can not only have all the features of Adobe Reader but so much more including the ability to create and edit texts and images in PDF documents. Along with viewing and printing PDF files, it also allows you to do a whole lot of things with PDFs such as form completion, commenting on documents, converting PDFs to Word or Excel, signing and certifying forms, etc.Īdobe Acrobat is an essential PDF viewing tool that can convert virtually any document to PDF format while preserving the look and content of the original. In fact, it’s a small component of a much larger Adobe family which has evolved through various iterations over time. Adobe Reader is not same as the Adobe Acrobat. It can be downloaded from the Adobe’s website absolutely free of cost or it can also be acquired from other sources as long as they are compliant with Adobe licensing requirements. It is a cross-platform program which allows you to create PDF documents on one computer and view them on other computer with a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader. This article explains the difference between the two PDF viewers on various fronts.Īdobe Reader is one small component of Acrobat developed by Adobe Systems to view and open PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Both can be used to view, print, comment, and search through documents with ease, but the Acrobat is the more advanced version of the Reader with the ability to create and edit existing documents. Both are very essential tools in today’s electronic workflow that can convert virtually any document to a PDF format while keeping the content intact with the original document. Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat are the two most popular PDF viewers developed and distributed by Adobe Systems Incorporated.

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